Ch. 58
Arcee kept her blaster level as she turned a corner. Nothing. The large shadows were wreaking havoc on her optics. She was sure she saw something move a few moments ago. The femme knew she was being watched, but if MECH was using a replica of Starscream then the ability of stealth and a surprise attack was definitely in their favor.
Arcee turned another corner of a building to look around for any movement when a hard blow to the back of her threw the femme into a wall and knocked her unconscious.
A tall, thin figure looked down at her form, then slipped back into the shadows as Bulkhead came into the area. The big mech's blaster was aimed up and he glared when he saw Arcee laying on the ground.
"'Cee!" he knelt over her to pick her up but a noise made Bulkhead pause.
He realized too late the trap he had walked into when he saw a glowing flash of red and felt a sharp jab to the side of his helm. The figure walked into the light to get a better view of the bots and Silas smirked as he watched from his video screen.
"Two down," he said into his microphone and the tall figure, the false Starscream, spoke from the other side, "three to go..."
Bumblebee was on the other side of the compound, his blaster poised to fire at any moment. He heard a noise and frowned, chasing the sound. He came around a large water tank, ready to fire, and found nothing. The scout was disappointed. He backed up carefully and bumped into something that cried out, surprising and making the yellow mech whirl loudly. He turned to aim at the assailant and bubbled angrily when he saw blue optics staring back, Starscream panting heavily to regain his intakes.
"YOU were scared?!" the seeker huffed, transforming his blasters back into servos to clutch his chest plate, "Primus, I thought you were my false copy! I thought I was tracking it..." he sighed heavily, "I suppose it was just you."
Bumblebee nodded, beeping that the compound was pretty big and the shadows were easily playing tricks.
Starscream grumbled, "I don't understand. We should have found some evidence of them by now. Any reports from anyone else?"
The scout shook his helm, making the silver mech frown, "We should regroup. This is getting us nowhere," he activated his COMM, "Starscream to Optimus... Optimus?" he winced when he got nothing but static and scowled, "No doubt about it, MECH is here. My COMM isn't working."
Bumblebee frowned hard and kept his blasters up as he looked around, whirring quietly that they should start moving again. The seeker nodded, transforming out his blasters, and started walking.
"Stay close," he murmured, not seeing a set of claws reach out and grab Bumblebee from behind, "I'll take point, you cover the back..."
The seeker paused when he didn't hear a response and his wings fluttered, "... Bumblebee?"
A loud thud made Starscream jump and he turned quickly to see the yellow mech's unconscious form crumpled on the ground. Red optics leered at the seeker as the false Starscream walked out of the shadows and stepped over the chassis.
"Well, well, there you are," it smirked.
Starscream groaned when he looked the robot over, grimacing, "Ugh, all your posturing and prattling and you couldn't even FINISH the thing?! Silas, I'm disappointed!" he shuddered as he looked into the faceplates, the lower half of it still open and incomplete, "At least get my best features right!"
The robot laughed, flexing its claws, "But we did! Only the best features..." it aimed its right missile at the seeker and fired, forcing the silver mech to dive, "and they've all been tested perfectly thanks to the U.S. government! How many did we manage to terminate with our creation?!"
Starscream rolled to dodge the other missile and cried out when he slammed into a water tank from the explosion. He shook off the pain and snarled as he scrambled to his peds, tackling into the fake robot to get it away from Bumblebee's still unconscious form. The pair slammed into a wall and the robot brought its fists down hard, Starscream falling in pain as he felt his jet turbine dent under the blow. The robot kicked him back hard, chuckling.
"Do you know the best part about this?" Silas spoke through the false Starscream, the robot circling him, "It doesn't feel any PAIN," long claws extended and thrusted up hard, aiming to pierce through the seeker's cockpit.
Starscream gasped hard, trembling, then felt things slow down. His look of pain and surprise suddenly changed to a sneer as the electricity began to build within him. He felt the displacement, the surge of energy, and the hiccup throw him out of the way of the claws. The robot slipped when its attack missed and the seeker charged, slamming his fists into the faceplates of the false Starscream.
The robot took the hits but didn't react the same as another mech would have. It was true what Silas said about pain: for his construction, it wasn't a limitation. Starscream shoved the replica back and aimed to fire a missile when the robot lunged forward and grabbed the arm, wrenching down with its claws. The seeker shrieked and misfired, the projectile spinning off into the air and exploding. Starscream realized he was in trouble when he began to drip energon.
"You really are a marvel, aren't you?" Silas said through the false Starscream, the robot walking towards him, "I don't know how you managed to avoid me gutting you, but every time we have an encounter I'm never disappointed."
Starscream backed away as he clutched his arm, looking around for any sort of help and seeing none.
The robot continued its advance, claws flexed at its side, "I wonder if we'll be able to harness that power from you too, once we get you on the slab. And I have a grand proposal for you, Starscream: follow this robot quietly and I'll spare the rest of the Autobots."
The seeker snarled as he backed into a factory building wall, "You think I'm that stupid?! My chances of survival are far better if I fight against you!"
"Maybe so," the robot gestured to the compound around them, "But this place? This location? I knew your precognition would lead you here. And I knew to prepare for it. So, you can come with me quietly and I won't detonate the numerous bombs we planted here before your arrival. It's up to you. I really don't want to have to rip your insides out to change your mind; that could get a little messy..."
Starscream growled lightly but said nothing, his optics narrowing.
The replica took another step forward, "I'm not going to ask again."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Silas sighed through the robot, "It's unfortunate you feel that way," the replica grabbed Starscream's arm tightly, "but it doesn't look like you have much fight left in you."
The seeker pulled back against the robot then gasped when a powerful gust of wind and a strong force threw the replica back, a large form hunched over in front of him. Optimus stood up straighter, transforming a servo into a blaster.
"Starscream, move!" he ordered, firing on the replica to force it back.
Starscream was frozen in place, shaking his helm, "We can't! They're here!"
The Prime turned back and took him by the arm, leading him through the compound at a run, "That is why you need to leave! The rest of us can handle the situation, but you are their target!"
The seeker pulled his arm away, skidding to a halt, "If I leave, they'll blow this place into a crater! We can't leave yet!"
"No," came an irritated response, "you can't."
The robot slowly walked into the area, MECH soldiers surrounding them with their weapons aimed carefully.
Optimus frowned and did his best to shield Starscream, murmuring quietly, "Can you still fight?"
The seeker nodded, growling softly, "More than you can believe."
The Prime charged his blaster as Starscream transformed his undamaged arm into his blaster, "Then let us wrap up this event and get back to base safely."